Protector
by summerlovesrice
Summary: The 74th Hunger Games rule change doesn't get unchanged; Peeta and Katniss get out with no trouble from the Capitol, and Katniss gets feelings for Peeta when they're in the cave. This starts when Katniss is on the rising thingy going to the stage above.
1. Chapter 1

**_**A/N: Hey guise~ t**__his is my first fanfic, so don't make fun :c Actually, do... but at least in the way to help? Ha, idunno. But that would be nice~_I got half the story planned out, but every time I look at it I feel like adding something! I tried my best. Enjoy :) This starts when Katniss is on the rising thingy going to the stage above. __**

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><p>The crowd is the only thing I can think about right now, other than Peeta. That, and the stage above me might crush me. I can't think about the others that died before my eyes until we get on the train.<p>

Haymitch pats my shoulder, and startles me, "You hear that? That's all for you, sweetheart."

"Haymitch! Don't do that to me!" I scold. It gets irritating when everybody seems to sneak up on you when you're thinking.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, mom. Excited to see your boyfriend?" I'm surprised when he says this. Boyfriend? Peeta's not my boyfriend.

"He's not my boyfriend. That was all for the cameras," I say. I had to play my part to help him, since I could us both out. I had to keep the "star-crossed lovers" act on to keep getting sponsors.

"Sure," he said sarcastically. "Good luck out there."

"You too, I guess." He hugs me and then turns around and leaves me. A few minutes later, I hear the team being introduced. Then finally, the ground beneath me starts to rise, and the blinding lights start shining on me. I can't see anything for a few moments, just some white and orange lights.

Then he's there. Smiling like an idiot at me. His smiles are always the same. I act like I don't hear anything, smell anything, or see anything but him. "Peeta," I start to say, hearing my voice all around us. He presses his lips against mine. We stay like that for a while until Haymitch separates us.

We go through with the ceremony, get through the interviews, then get on the train. I go straight to my room to clean off the makeup and change out of the wonderful dress that Cinna made. I put on a pretty green dress, a lot less flashy than the other one. I lay down on my bed, just thinking about everything. I get flashbacks from the arena. When the Rue train runs through my brain, I start bawling. I should have tried to save her, but I know there was nothing I could've even done.

It's been an hour and my pillow is soaked in tears. My eyes are bloodshot. That's when I start thinking about Peeta. I go to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. I wash my face; it's sticky from the tears. I put in eye drops and I look almost normal. Is it true that Peeta is desperately in love with me? Or was it really just something to get people to like him more? Was it just for show? I feel like I've gotten closer to him, and I care more about him now. We experienced those horrible things together; I don't think anybody I'm close to in District 12 knows how it feels to watch other people die in front of your eyes.

I go back to my bed; it's messy. Half of the pillows are on the floor, and the blankets are everywhere. I sigh and start to clean it up. Finally, something for me to do that's normal. When I finish, I'm thirsty and hungry. I go out to the kitchen, drink water, get a cup of tea, and sit on a chair next to the window. I gaze at the stars out the window. Peeta walks in, gets something to eat and leans on the counter on my right. We're silent for a whole five minutes until he breaks the silence.

"When we get home, what are we going to do?" Peeta asks, his voice sounding serious.

I look down at my tea. "I don't know," I replied quietly.

"Everything that happened in the arena…was it just for the cameras?" He waits for my reply, but he sees that I'm not going to say anything yet. So he continues, "Or tell me, did you somehow fall in love with me in my worst? In _our_ worst?" I glance at him; he looks desperate for an answer.

Still looking at my tea, I tell him, "Some of it was for the cameras. The first time I kissed you, it was..." I paused. I can't find the right word, so I keep going. "I just did it. The second time, I had to, so we could get more things from Haymitch."

"Everything was real for me, Katniss," he says right away. I hear the depressing tone in his voice, my eyes shoot up to see his face. His eyes are closed, and tear streaks run down his cheek. I can't let him feel bad yet… we still have to keep up our act when we arrive at District 12.

"I wasn't finished." He looks up, obviously confused. "Everything we went through, we did it together. We experienced the pain, _together_." I stare at him for a while until I finally say, "Yes, I guess you can say that I felt something when we first kissed. That I felt something, the moment the announcement that 2 victors could go home ended. I felt something, taking care of you in the cave and sleeping next to you."

His eyes brightened up, but just a little. He seems doubtful. "Really, Katniss?"

"Is it not obvious?"

"No, actually. Reading you is like a baby trying to read a cookbook." I laugh, for the first time since we've been on the train. "Well, I'm tired, Katniss. I'm going to take a nap. Wake me when we get there?"

"Sure, Peeta." He steps towards me, but hesitates for a second, and kisses me on the cheek. I blush; he laughs and walks away.

*PEETA'S POV*

I head straight to my room after my talk with Katniss. That girl is one _big_ headache. I don't believe that she actually has feelings for me. It's written all over her face! Maybe I'm just reading her wrong. Maybe she does have feelings for me. I'm lying on the soft satin bedspread, trying to remember what Portia said to me when we were alone after I had just confessed my love for Katniss on live television.

_Flashback:_

"_I just made her hate me more," I said._

_Portia shakes her head and puts her hand on my shoulder. "I know, deep down inside of her, somewhere she doesn't even know, she loves you. I'm sure of that by the way she reacted when you confessed."_


	2. Chapter 2

**_**_**A/N: My friends read the first chapter and they wanted more. I never had time to do it until today D: This is for them, and for you, whoever's reading this! Enjoy :)**_**_**

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><p><strong><em>*KATNISS'S POV*<em>**

I walk back to my room, still holding my cup of tea. I sit on the bed, staring down at the ground. I sip until it's empty; still looking down.

_Wow._ The Games really have changed me so much… if I hadn't gone through that, I never would have said that to Peeta. I never showed emotion. That's how I lived; everybody saw that I was a strong person, emotionally and physically.

I thought about what'll actually happen when I get home. When _we_ get home. I think about Gale; will we still go hunting? I have money to buy things now. I don't need to go out looking for food, starving. He'll still be my best friend, no matter what. Right? But there's still a possibility of things not being the same. I push that out of my mind; I'll deal with those problems when I have to.

I stand up and put the cup down on the bedside table. There's a flower vase filled with Primrose flowers, and it reminds me of Prim. I smile, knowing she'll be proud of me. Proud of her sister, who promised she'd come back. Proud of her sister, who saved another person's life. I lay down and take a nap, thinking I should try to make peace with my brain before we get home.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I wake up a few hours later. I shower, change, and Effie calls me for lunch. I wear a neon green shirt and black pants, leaving my hair down. I sit on the only open chair, between Haymitch and Peeta. "Well it's about time! Peeta refused to let the waiter bring the food until you came!" Effie said, smiling.

I looked at Peeta. He's smiling again! I smile back at him and say to everybody, "What are we waiting for then? Let's eat!"

We finished our food; the whole time listening to Effie's remarks on the games. "That cut looked nasty!" "Peeta, your camouflage skills are excellent, dear!" "Katniss, the flowers were beautiful, darling." All she talked about was what happened in the arena. Even Haymitch looked annoyed.

When Haymitch and I were about to leave the kitchen to go to our rooms, somebody warned us that we would be back in 12 in about ten minutes. _Ten minutes!_ Not enough time to think! "Katniss," Haymitch called from across the room, "pack up now. Effie and this train are going after they drop us off. Same for you, Peeta."

I rushed back to my room and gathered my things. I can't believe we're almost there.

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><p>Peeta walked behind me, and Haymitch followed. I was the first to leave the train. There were people gathered all around the train, waiting for us. The children were waving at us with big smiles. As soon as we were all off, Haymitch walked away, and Peeta started waving back at the children. I did the same, not wanting to look stupid in front of all these people who have come to see us arrive. Peeta and I walked through the crowd, holding hands. When we walked through, the first thing we see is a camera.<p>

I smile and hold up our hands. He turns, bringing me with him, and thanks the crowd. The crowd applauded us, and that's when I see her. "PRIM!" I let go of Peeta's hand and run over to Prim. I could feel the camera at my back, watching me, instead of Peeta. I hug Prim so tight and lift her off the ground.

"Katniss! I'm so proud of you," she says through happy tears. I smile, because I knew she would say that. "Thank you for coming back." She lets go and looks me in the eyes.

"You're welcome, Prim. I missed you, Gale, and mother so much!" I kissed her cheek, and then a shadow was cast over us. I turned, only to see Gale. "_Gale!_" I stood up and hugged him. He didn't hug back. I let go and give him a questioning look. He has a serious face on. Is he mad? What happened?

He smiles and gives me a giant hug, and lifts me off the ground like how I did to Prim. Gale was only joking! When he put me down, I sighed in relief, and said, "Hey there." I peek at Peeta; Prim's talking to him, and the crowd had started to leave. Why is she there? Never mind, Gale's here. One thing at a time.

"Hey, Catnip. You came back." He grins widely.

"Did you think I was going to leave you guys? That I was going to die?" I raise an eyebrow at him, but still smiling.

"Yes, actually!" He laughed, and I punched him in the arm. "Ow! Why'd you do that?" I rolled my eyes at him, said bye, and hugged him again before going back to Peeta.

Peeta took my hand and dragged me far away to a shaded, quiet spot, not saying a word. He lets go, and I watch as he sits on a patch of grass, struggling with his fake leg. "Come here, Katniss!" I laugh and walk to him.

"What is this place?" Looking at the surroundings, I hear mockingjays singing. It's so green and peaceful here, why haven't I ever seen this place? I stand up and turn in a circle. You can't see any buildings or any_body_.

"I come here when I'm not at school or at the bakery. It's my... refuge. My mother isn't the nicest person in the world. I'd come here when she was mad at me, my brothers, or my father. It's not far from the bakery." He lies down and looks at the mockingjays in the tree above us. I decide to lay down beside him. He lets out a sigh and takes my hand. "This is also where I think of you. I always dreamed of bringing you here." I turn and look at him, and he's looking at me with relaxed eyes.

We stay like that for a while until someone interrupts us. "Katniss! Where are you?" It's Prim and Rory. "Katniss!" Rory shouts.

I stand and help Peeta up. "I'm here!" I shout back. They run to us and Gale pops out from behind them.

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><p><em><strong>*PEETA'S POV<strong>_**_*_**

_Why!_They could've ruined a different moment, not this one.

Then Gale comes from behind them. What does _he_ want? "Katniss! Gale was looking all over for you," Katniss's little sister says. Why would he be looking for her?

I watch his eyes. While Katniss is looking at Prim, he looks at Katniss with the eyes that my brother looks at his wife at. _No._ It's not possible. They're just friends! I zone out, not listening to what they're saying. I can't believe what I just saw. They say the eyes never lie...Katniss proved whoever said that wrong with Tracker Jackers.

She looks at me and asks me something I didn't hear. "What?"

"I said, do you want to go to Gale's house? I need to see his mother and my mother. His mother's sick and my mother's caring for her."

"Oh. I'll go if you want me to. It's alright if you don't want me to." I really didn't want to. She must've seen my real thoughts in my eyes, because she told me I could go see my parents. I remember seeing them at the train station, I waved at them, but I didn't really go see them yet. That should be one of the first things I should do.

A couple minutes later, she and Gale were headed to his house, and I went to the bakery. I knew, by the smell of bread, that my family was there. I walked in, and all of them were laughing, eating whole loaves of bread. They never do this, so why are they doing it now? District 12 gets weirder and weirder every day.

"_Peeta! _Peeta, oh my gosh come here right now," my aunt Shayne screamed. My family greeted me; I gave and got about a million hugs. My entire family was here. My brother, Lenny, tossed me a loaf of bread and high fived me.

"You finally got her didn't you bud?" His smile widened every second it took me to answer. I nodded, and he laughed. "Well what are you waiting for? Let's meet her!"

"She's at Gale's, her mother's at his house caring for his mother."

"Ooooooooh, Peeta! Competition," his smile widened, but it faded a little as he came into realization that he's _always_ been the competition for me.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I know, I keep switching POVs in this.. but I think it would be better for people to know what each of them are feeling :3 This is for my two buddies who got me to write another chapter! It's probably not my best.. but still! Enjoy :)**_

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><p><em><strong>*KATNISS'S POV*<strong>_

Halfway to Gale's house, I catch Gale staring at me from my right. My heart skips a beat, but there obviously was no reason for that. So I stare back, and trip on a rock. He starts laughing, but offers a hand. Oh, Gale, you shouldn't have done that! I pull him down with me, then get up and laugh at him. We continue walking, making small talk.

When we get closer to his house, I see Vick sitting on the dirt in the front yard, throwing rocks at who knows what. "Hey Vick!" I yell out; he looks and runs toward me. He hugs me really tightly and doesn't let go until Gale has to shove him off of me.

"You did a good job, Katniss!" His face is shining in the sunlight, glowing more with his smile. He was always a handsome little kid, even better than Gale, I had to admit! "Who's that boy you brought back home? Gale got really jealous of him when you were in the cave with him," he winked and smiled at Gale, laughed and ran away.

I looked at Gale and his face was red as a cherry. "True or no?" I asked, laughing.

"Let's go, Katniss," he says, smiling and avoiding my eyes. He grabs my wrist and basically drags me to the house. The first thing I see is my mother on the couch, talking to Hazelle, who's lying with her head on my mom's lap. I run over to them and hug them ever so tightly; I might squeeze them to death! I see Gale staring right at me again. Has he developed a staring problem while I was gone?

"Katniss! I knew you were going to win! I just knew, from the moment the little girl from 11 died, that you were going to be the victor! I missed you so much, honey," my mom told me.

"I missed you so much too, Katniss! I knew you were going to come back, but I didn't expect you to bring the boy back!" Hazelle said. I noticed Gale left the room when she brought up Peeta.

"I missed you both, Gale, Prim—I missed everybody here! It's so different in the Capitol… the people aren't as likable there as they are here. Less friendly, I guess." I looked around, the house looked so much cleaner, I couldn't believe she'd done it. "It looks cleaner in here! Hazelle, did you do anything?"

"No, my dear. It was all your mother who did it. I got sick from something Rory brought home for dinner in attempt to replace Gale. Has anyone told you? He works in the mines now. He's too old to be reaped anymore."

My heart dropped hearing that. _Works in the mines?_ Not possible. I won't be able to see him as much! Will we even hunt anymore? Today was a Sunday; he would be off today. Hazelle and my mother must've realized that I didn't know, and I wasn't exactly happy about it, because they called Gale in.

"Yes?" Gale said from the kitchen.

"Go do something with Katniss! You'll be working again tomorrow. You're wasting your time here!" Hazelle tells him.

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><p><em><strong>*GALE'S POV*<strong>_

Yes! I can have time alone to my best friend. When we're outside the door, I ask her, "Hunting?"

"Hunting." And just like that, we're back to our pre-74th-Hunger-Games, normal thing.

I watch her shoot arrows, while I set up snares. After a while, I just get lost in watching her do her thing. She looks so flawless doing it… I wish she were mine. She has Peeta now, though. I'm a horrible person, but not horrible enough to hurt my best friend or the person she cares so much about.

She catches me staring, so I get back to doing the snares. The sound of arrows flying is gone now, and has been for the past five minutes. "Nothing to shoot, huh?" I ask, continuing to set up the snare. She's silent, so I look back, but she's not there. She's sitting on a rock to my right, staring at me! I didn't see her or hear her move!

Katniss, beautiful Katniss, starts laughing at me, the way I laughed at her when she tripped. I gave her a mean look, and she got up and ran away, singing a song. The birds stopped singing… she was perfect in every way.

But I can't have her.

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><p><strong><em>*PEETA'S POV*<em>**

The sky is blue. Bread has flour. Grass is a plant. So many things I know for sure, but only one thing matters. I don't know what's going on with Katniss and Gale right now. I so desperately need to see her face, or at least hear her voice…

I'm sitting in the place I brought Katniss to, near the bakery. It's so calm. My thoughts wander to the games, how I watched everybody's lives disappear. Wouldn't it be wonderful if human beings had nine lives like cats? I think it would.

So many things have gone wrong in my life, but the Hunger Games was one of the most unfortunate events… Who would've thought I'd end up with the girl of my dreams because of it? I must have good karma.

Katniss Everdeen is perfect. Perfect for me, just simply wonderful and amazing. I hope Gale doesn't think the same.

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><p><strong><em>*KATNISS'S POV*<em>**

It's night time, and I can't sleep. My family and I are moving into the victor's village tomorrow.

Every time I think about Peeta or Gale, it always brings me back to the games. I can't make my choice when I can't think straight! I can't even begin to sort out my feelings for Gale. My heart skips a beat every time I catch him staring at me. The way he stares reminds me of how my mother would look at my father's picture on top of the fireplace. I know it can't be the same, because he's my best friend! But best friends have feelings too.

Peeta Mellark. I haven't seen him in over 5 hours, and it feels like I'm back in the arena searching for him. First thing I'll do tomorrow is go see him. I know now, that I can't live without him. Or Gale.

_Rue. _I decide to send her a little message. I don't care if she never hears it, I just need to get it out._ I miss you, even though we've only been together for a short time. I would've been proud to end my life for you to be crowned victor. You would have deserved it._


End file.
